Swish.

The harsh wind blowing from behind alerted Mao Ya of the impending attack. Though he was taken by surprise, his reactions were much quicker than expected.

"Earthern Wall!" He yelled out urgently but did not stop there.

As the wall formed around him, Mao Ya did not slow down, pouring more and more Qi from his body as he executed another technique, "Earthen Enacase!"

By the time Hei Yu's claw arrived, he was protected underneath multiple layers of earth, but even then, his attack was not blocked, as the layers crumbled, and the blunt force of the attack pushed him away.

He got stronger. But How?

Considering Xue Yueliang's nature, she would not allow him the time to quietly process his thoughts as their swords met again.

"Did you not promise your loyalty to the royal family?" Mao Ya asked, finding the time to squeeze out a few words, but his words were met with a smirk. "If I had wouldn't you, the great Third Prince, know?"

The conversation was odd to people who did not understand the significance of her bloodline, "And even if I did, what would it mean to you? You're just one prince out of many."

The prince's expression darkened, but his anger only improved her mood. After lashing out at him, she recalled Lei Fu's words and the princess's intent. She could not kill this man, not if she wanted the princess's trust, so for now, she would satisfy herself with this look of anger he had. She retreated, a few steps, allowing Hei Yu to take the forefront, as her ring flashed, retrieving an unknown item from within. If she wanted to go through with her plan, there was no better time to do so now.

"Her anger seems to have died down," Mo Luli commented, surprised.

"Lei Fu really did pass on my message." The princess smiled, her fists relaxing.

She was not used to buying people over to her side, as most of her attendants, and trusted circle, surrounded her because they believed in her and her capabilities.

Lei Fu wouldn't betray me for Mao Ya as long as I'm more capable than him. Yao Niang's determination increased as she looked at the fight going on.

I was too naive in the past.

She did not need to win people over; she could also buy them if required, though they would be less trustworthy, and would not be too disheartened if she lost them. Noticing her thoughts' dark path, Yao Niang closed her eyes and calmed her mind, and when she opened them again, they were filled with the same serenity she usually carried.

Though there was nothing wrong with how her thoughts unfolded, it was not within her nature, and though she would have to pick things like that eventually, she could not go too fast.

Otherwise, I could lose myself.

The worst thing that could happen to a cultivator was to forget who they are. When a cultivator loses sight of their original self, it could form a heart devil, turning them into broken versions of themselves.

And I can't be that.

"It's surprising how easily she moves with those injuries." Mo Luli complimented, admiring her iron will,

"Yeah, she's vicious." The princess smiled, but why would she help me?

The doubts her mother brought up were brought to the forefront of her mind, alongside Xue Yueliang's verbalising how she never swore fealty to the royal family made her feel uneasy.

Xue Yueliang crossed her arms as she watched Hei Yu and Mao Ya exchange blows, waiting for an opening where she could directly cut his flesh, it did not need to be severe, but it had to enter his system.

Mao Ya did not have a hard time fighting against Hei Yu, but Xue Yueliang staring at him like a hawk toward its prey irked him.

Sadly, pushing off Hei Yu without making large movements and creating openings was impossible.

Suddenly, a terrifying thought appeared in Mao Ya's mind, what if they had good techniques?

Individually, both Hei Yu and Xue Yueliang were quite strong, and although he was confident in ending this with his win or at least a draw, with their strength and better techniques to match... I would have been done for.

His gaze hardened as a new thought appeared in his mind, but it was interrupted by a sweet voice, "Don't take this personally, Your Highness."

Xue Yueliang smiled, "I only went the first place."

"Huh?"

Surprised that his thoughts had been read, the prince spoke, but her figure had turned into a blur, as she appeared close to him.

Taking advantage of his momentary distraction, Hei Yu clung to his heavy sword, not allowing him to wield it, but with the attack coming at him, he did not have the time to tussle with him.

How did I not notice it?

He was astonished, raising his arms to guard himself, knowing no technique could be summoned this fast; a weak sting appeared on his forearm, and a thin line of blood dripped down. Her attack barely cut through his skin, allowing him to understand what happened.

There was no danger in the attack.

Realising Xue Yueliang did not have a secret trump card, Mao Ya's worries relaxed, retrieving a new weapon from his storage ring.

What was the point?

Looking at the familiar dagger in his arm, Xue Yueliang giggled while retreating, "It seems like I lost my strength."

But neither her smiling face nor her glimmering veins backed her words. The dagger he brought out nor his impending increase in speed bothered her.

I don't plan on letting him use either of them.

Recalling her earlier battles, Mao Ya's face turned serious, and his ring flashed again; this time, a pill came out, filling the arena with rich, invigorating energy. It was not a healing medication, like they both so desperately needed, but an antidote, and from its potency, she did not doubt it could cure any poison that would not kill him immediately.

Well, I didn't poison him, so it doesn't matter.

"I did not think you would think so low of me, to the point where you would think I would poison you." She pouted, not taking any actions to stop him from swallowing the pill.

Her confident demeanour caused Mao Ya to slightly falter but still took the medication.

Better safe than sorry. He thought.

Xue Yueliang watched on, and Hei Yu sat by her feet. The stalling did not bother her, as it would only tip things to her side.

She took full use of the quiet to absorb the surrounding Qi, attempting to regain her strength for the finale.

Of course, if things went the way she wanted, she would not have to expend much energy, but he was a prince and one of the top cultivators of their generation.

I can't easily let my guard down.

The silence lasted a while, as the frown on Mao Ya's face deepened, while Xue Yueliang's smile turned brighter. He could feel something was wrong, but neither the pill he took nor the multiple inspections he did, revealed what was happening.

Whatever it was, I want more.

Looking at the glimpses of desire that escaped him, Xue Yueliang knew things were going according to plan, "You want more, right?"

His head snapped up as he looked at her, his eyes bloodshot, almost screaming the desire that was witing him.

"Well, it can't be helped," Xue Yueliang smiled, "I'm too kind-hearted; I can't say no to that desperate look."

She waved dramatically, before dashing with her sword, going for weak attacks at first, not wanting his conscious mind to return.

Cuts appeared on his flesh, crisscrossing and lengthening, Mao Ya did not retaliate or defend himself seemed to be in absolute bliss, and an intoxicated glint appeared in his eye. He made no effort to hide the enjoyment he felt, and - uncharacteristically - Xue Yueliang was not bored by the one-sided battle. In fact, how much she enjoyed this could be compared to what the prince felt too.

He's humiliating himself.

He was here, and not Yao Niang or other capable royalty because this was a chance for him to increase his reputation to another level. However, rather than improving his reputation, it seemed to devolve to another level.

"Is that really the Third Prince?" A person muttered, sounding betrayed.

"I did not expect His Highness to be the type to enjoy being beaten by a woman." A malicious man smiled.

He had a scar on his face that ran from his eye to his chin and wielded a cutlass in his arm. Mao Ya had humiliated their young master, and now, his humiliation will overshadow Sun Wei's. There was no way he would not be pleased by this development; his gaze flitted toward Sun Wei, who was still in shock, hopeful this would be enough for him to regain his confidence, but Sun Wei did not react.

Li Hua was stunned by what she witnessed and recalled Xue Yueliang's words; he'll be too intoxicated.

"I guess she didn't lie to me." Li Hua laughed.

But the person most surprised by this development was someone who was not even at the mountain range yet.

"How did she do that-" Mo Luli exclaimed, unable to believe what she saw.

As someone who worked for the royal family, she was very familiar with Mao Ya's abilities.

It was surprising that there would be something he could not counter, especially when given both the time and resources to do so.

Unlike her, the princess seemed deep in thought, thinking carefully before recalling some information.

"Not long ago, there was a strange occurrence in the Brokenrock Forest. Many creatures there stopped moving, only focussing on eating, even as they were killed. I went there to investigate while the festival was happening in Flower City. I found the cause to be an invasive species of bees; they produce the Ten-Year Hypnotising Honey. Xue Yueliang must have gotten it then." The princess explained, "It makes sense Mao Ya could not counter it, those bees were not native to the country, and it makes sense for him to not have heard of it."

Listening to the explanation, Mo Luli was convinced and clapped for the princess, "As expected of the only princess in our kingdom, you really are exceptional."

Yao Niang too, smiled, saying, "It's not that big of a deal; I only went there because I found the situation curious."

"Princess, you should give yourself more credit," Mo Luli sighed, "I doubt the other highness would have heard of it, and even if they did, they would not care enough to investigate."

"But such peculiar movements would affect the citizens," Yao Niang frowned.

If the people from nearby villages and towns witnessed what happened, they would hunt in large numbers and exterminate the entire forest, making them lose an important food and medicine source. If not for that, she would not have cared.

Mo Luli looked at her with a complicated gaze, finally saying, "I don't mean to badmouth royalty, but do you believe that they care about the commoners and mortals as much as you do?"

Mo Luli continued, "I support you because your motivations for being Queen is not vain things like power, title or status, but because you actually care."

"Well-" the princess said, her gaze averted, "I also care about the other things too."

"Who wouldn't." Mo Luli laughed, glad to see the princess being honest about her designs for the throne.

Yao Niang smiled; although she had many a-sibling, the only person she would consider as family other than, Her Majesty was Mo Luli.

"How long do you think this will last?"

Xue Yueliang was busy enjoying the sight in front of her, and Mao Ya's body became a bloody mess. She had not overdone it, though. Even if he did not receive treatment straight away for those injuries, he would not die from them. Though she felt like crippling him, destroying his foundation, or even killing him, she could not do that.

I can't wait until I see her again. Maybe she has warmed up to me now.

Since she followed her advice, Xue Yueliang had high hopes for how Yao Niang would view her. Focussing back on Mao Ya, the joy she felt from torturing had completely disappeared, and just as she was about to let go of her bloodline power, she decided to look at who her blood was resonating most with and froze at the face it belonged to.

This can't be real.